This invention relates to an apparatus and method for mounting electronic components made by punching out the components bonded on film carriers to, for example, a liquid crystal display panel.
A display panel of liquid crystal is fabricated by connecting the leadwires of an electronic component to electrodes which are on the periphery of the display panel. The electronic components are made by stamping out the electronic components bonded on film carriers. This method is called TAB method (tape automated bonding method). FIGS. 8(a)-8(c) depict a conventional method for punching out electronic components.
In FIG. 8(a), there is shown an electronic component in the form of a chip 2 and leadwires (not shown) bonded on a film carrier 1 supplied from a supply reel (not shown). An upper die 3 has a punch 4, while a lower die 5 has a knock-out pin 6. A film carrier 1 is wound up by a take up reel (not shown) and progresses intermittently between the upper die 3 and the lower die 5. In FIG. 8(a) the film carrier 1 is stopped with the chip 2 between the punch 4 and the knock-out pin 6.
In FIG. 8(b), the upper die 3 is lowered to punch the film carrier 1. The knock-out pin 6 is pushed by the punch 4 and is lowered against an upward supporting force of a spring (not shown).
In FIG. 8(c), the upper die 3 is raised. The knock-out pin 6, with the punched electronic component 7 on it, is raised also by a mechanism (not shown). A removing device 8 with a take out nozzle 9 is inserted between the upper die 3 and the lower die 5 to suck up the electronic component 7.
As shown in FIG. 8(c), the upper die 3 has to move with long strokes in order to provide a clearance in which the take out nozzle 9 can be inserted. The distance of each of the strokes prolongs the fabrication time of the process by making the upper die 3 move in longer strokes than if the take out nozzle did not have to be inserted. Also, the movement of the upper die through these longer strokes magnifies the shock of the upper die 3 in punching the film carrier, thereby vibrating the stamping device 10. This vibration results in improperly positioning leadwires (not shown) of the punched out electronic components relative to the electrodes of a display panel of liquid crystal. Hence, the conventional process illustrated in FIGS. 8(a)-8(c) creates the problem of making it more difficult to connect the leadwires of the electronic components to the electrodes of, for example, a display panel of liquid crystal.
In addition, the conventional process can misalign the electronic component with respect to the take out nozzle, as shown in FIG. 9.
FIG. 9 shows the knock-out pin 6 raised with the punched electronic component 7 on top. As shown in the FIG. 9, burrs E1 and E2 often occur in opposite directions with each other at the edges of the film carrier 1 as the number of punchings or stampings increases. The interference between the extended burrs E1 and E2, when the knock-out pin 6 rises through a punched hole of the film carrier 1 as shown in FIG. 8(c) sometimes moves the electronic component 7 out of place, as shown with a broken line in FIG. 9. This position deviation interferes with the take out nozzle 9 to suck up the electronic component 7 at a proper position. Hence, the conventional process creates the additional problem of making it difficult to remove the electronic component once it has been stamped out.
The present invention, as described hereinafter, provides a mounting or fabricating device which solves the above problems created by the conventional process described above.